Up In Smoke: Blazing Teen Sets Brush Ablaze In Northern Los Angeles

A young stoner's worst nightmare came true over the weekend when a 14-year-old allegedly sparking up some weed accidentally set a 43-acre brush fire near Saugus, sheriff's officials said.

The teenager was arrested in the 21100 block of Altena Drive, an area where sheriff's officials believe the fire started. Deputies think the teen was sparking marijuana in a pipe and dropped the barbecue iron he used to light it, setting off the fire. The smoker and another 14-year-old, who was arrested and released, tried to stomp out the fire to no avail, authorities said.

The blaze was reported at 2 p.m. near Copper Hill Drive and Haskell Canyon Road, a county fire spokesman said. The fire was contained by 6:30 p.m.

The teens ran when they couldn't stomp out the blaze, but they were eventually picked up by deputies. The 14-year-old taken into custody was arrested on suspicion of arson.

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

Dennis Romero is an L.A. Weekly staff writer. He formerly worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Los Angeles Times, where he participated in Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the L.A. riots. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone online, the Guardian and, as a young stringer, the New York Times.